Global Firepower Index: Russia vs Turkey in 2015

After the aggravation of relations between Russia and Turkey, caused by the incident with the Russian su-24, in various media and social media a discussion about the potential of armed conflict between the two countries is taking place. At the same time, the Russian and Turkish authorities have ruled out the possibility of direct military confrontation between the two countries. RIA Novosti invites you to compare the combat capability of Russia and Turkey using the Global index of military strength — 2015 (Global Firepower Index, GFI), updated in November of the current year.

The rating takes into account such factors as the size of the army, land systems, air force, Navy, the production and consumption of resources in the country, the country's transport infrastructure, financial resources, and geographic features.

Russia, in this rating, occupies the second position behind the USA. Turkey can be found in 10th place after China, India, Great Britain, France, South Korea, Germany and Japan (modern day Japanese armed forces are called Forces of self-defense, because their actions are not related to protecting the country's sovereignty, and are very limited — ed.).

With the total population being 142,47 million people, Russia can mobilize more than 69 million people in the event of a potential military conflict. Each year of age eligible for military service totals 1.35 million people. The recruits currently involved in military service totals more than 766 thousand people, and almost 2.5 million are in reserve.

Turkey with a population of 81.61 million people can mobilize 41.6 million people. The total number of eligible recruits equals 1.37 million people. Currently in Turkey, 410, 500 thousand people serve and the number of reserves totals 185, 630 thousand people.

The Prime Minister of Turkey called for the establishment of military communication channels with Russia. Russia is more than three times superior to Turkey based on the number of units of the air force – 3429 against 1020, and in the Navy – Russia presently has 352 units, and Turkey – only 115.

Russia produces daily more oil than it consumes, while Turkey has to import oil from abroad to cover their daily needs for energy.

One of the main indicators is the military budget, where Russia spends 60.4 billion dollars, while the budget of Turkey reached 18,15 billion. While foreign exchange reserves are $ 515,6 billion, Turkey – $117.6 billion.

In General, it should be kept in mind that the rating of the armed forces of the countries of the world is a complex analytical product, the preparation of which takes into account the many different factors that directly or indirectly affect the military power of the country. In addition, the rating of the GFI does not take into account the nuclear potential of the countries, as well as the political and military leadership of the States.